Sharks defensemen boost power play

San Jose Sharks Patrick Marleau (12), Joe Thornton (19) and Dan Boyle (22) celebrate their second goal against the Anaheim Ducks in the first period for game 3 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. on Tuesday, April 21, 2009. (Josie Lepe/Mercury News)

ANAHEIM — For at least one playoff game, defensemen Dan Boyle and Rob Blake made Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson look like a pretty smart guy.

What happens next — starting tonight at the Honda Center as San Jose tries to even its series with the Anaheim Ducks at two games each — will go a long way toward determining whether Wilson ends up looking like a prophet as well.

In July, still smarting from another disappointing postseason, Wilson signed Blake as a free agent and took advantage of a change in Tampa Bay Lightning ownership to orchestrate a trade for Boyle.

Both carried a hefty price tag; Blake earned $5 million this season, Boyle just finished the first year of a deal that pays him $40 million through 2013. But Wilson had a vision of both players playing key roles in ending the Sharks' longtime playoff frustrations.

Until Tuesday night, that vision was blurred by the Ducks jumping out to a 2-0 series lead.

But in Game 3, Boyle and Blake took control, brought life to a dormant power play and had a hand in every San Jose goal during a tense 4-3 victory.

Coach Todd McLellan had not placed Boyle and Blake on the ice together much during the regular season. But that changed in Game 3, when the two frequently were paired on the power play.

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"Blake still has a great shot, and Danny has such great vision that it's easy when you give him the puck and you kind of know where to go," right wing Devin Setoguchi said Wednesday. "It's great when you've got them out there together."

The two were out there for two of the Sharks' goals, including the game-winner on a power play midway through the third period. Boyle passed the puck cross-ice to Blake, who fired it toward the slot, where Patrick Marleau was able to deflect it in.

Boyle finished the night with two goals and one assist; Blake ended up with one of each.

Boyle and Blake said the improvement in the Sharks' power play in Game 3, when it went 2 for 3 after going 0 for 12 in the two losses, was simply a matter of better execution and lucky bounces, not a change in approach.

"I think our decisions on when to shoot were better," Boyle said. "I think our puck recoveries were a little better. We showed some patience in the zone and didn't rush anything."

Blake noted that the Sharks' improvement on faceoffs during the power play has limited the times San Jose has had to enter the offensive zone with the puck — a particular challenge in Game 1.

Fewer entries generally means more time spent in the Anaheim end of the ice with a man advantage.

"We would get an extra 30 to 40 seconds in the zone, and you can tire out penalty-killers that way," Blake said, adding that worked to the Sharks' advantage on Marleau's goal.

McLellan said his decision to use Blake and Boyle together "had a little to do with the breakout and entry, and a lot to do with two right-handed shots."

One benefit of a right-handed defenseman? The ability to get off a quick one-timer from a left-handed passer such as center Joe Thornton.

Boyle's performance, especially his ability to play well at both ends of the rink, drew comparisons to one of the Ducks' stalwarts on the blue line, Scott Niedermayer.

"They can make a play at the net and then have the skating ability to recover," Anaheim Coach Randy Carlyle said. "They're similar from that standpoint and they're both great hockey players, and any coach would love to have either one of them."

Beyond their abilities to pass and shoot, Boyle sees himself and Blake contributing something else to the Sharks, something tied to the fact that each already has his name on the Stanley Cup.